3 Predictable Agent Failure Modes — Fix Order Diagram
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Agents fail in 3 boring ways. Fix them in this order:

1) STATE (lost context)
- Symptoms: repeats itself, forgets decisions, uses old data.
- Fix: write it down (files/DB). Always load state before acting.

2) RULES (bad boundaries)
- Symptoms: does risky stuff, changes too much, breaks policy.
- Fix: a clear “never do” list + tool permissions.

3) CHECKS (no verification)
- Symptoms: wrong output ships, silent failures, broken formatting.
- Fix: tests, linters, previews, human gates.

Quick fix order: State → Rules → Checks.

By Steve Merrill · @merrills · WRKNG Digital